This series explores survival under the most extreme circumstances. It features the same core characters in each story. Every book features them in a new alternate apocalypse. The idea is to explore how people with different skills survive, or not, in alternate disasters.

Ash. The time is June 21st, 2025 day zero. Dub wondered if this was how he would die, as a large man straddled him, pushing his face into the ash on the street. Ellen Chang ordered her meal at her favorite restaurant as a bright flash blinded her before she was vaporized. Danny Corriea and his dog Maggie on a Southern California beach found an empty bungalow to escape the radioactive fallout. Searching, Danny found a lockbox containing an invitation to a secret club aka bunker called The Oasis. The Oasis is located along the bluffs of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood 20 miles west of Los Angeles. In the operations room that they called the Hub was a man named Victor. Contacted by the UCLA group via radio, they went out to retrieve them and bring them back to the Oasis.

Clint Anthony in L.A. likened the situation to prison; primal and raw. This was a good day for him. In Venice, California Clint roamed the streets looking for like-minded people to build a following. Clint had done a dime at the “Q” and saw this as an opportunity. Intercepting the radio transmissions, they headed to UCLA to ambush the students. In Westwood, California Dub, his girlfriend Carrie, Doug Barker, and Michael Turner searched the UCLA Campus for food and supplies. Dub and Barker managed to enter the University Police evidence room via the drop ceiling to secure some weapons and tools. From the electronics lab, they were able to obtain radios, batteries, and other supplies. Micheal and Carrie manned the radio, sending out occasional distress calls. They were able to contact an inquisitive man called Victor who offered them sanctuary. Accepting Victor’s offer, they waited for them to arrive. Victor’s rescue group and the UCLA group of students returned to the Oasis minus one.

Lit. The time is October 17th, 2025. Angles National Forest, California. Sam McNeil and his wife Loretta woke in their tent from the smoke and the intense heat. All around them, the forest was on fire. They remained low trying to make their way out of the clearing they had camped in. Sam was in bad shape, burned over a large part of his body. This was the couple that had purchased the invitation to the Oasis that Danny had found in the Ash book. Brentwood, California. Ellen Change was late, again, for her appointment at the nail salon. Made to wait at the rear of the salon, she dozed off. Waking to intense heat and smoke, she looked around, saw no one, and tried to make her way out of the salon. Casper Ritz Lincoln, a firefighter paramedic unsuccessfully tried to get to the remaining survivor in the salon. The fire jumped from building to building, substations blowing from the heat. Without communications, firefighters like Ritz went from fire to fire helping the injured. Santa Monica, California. Danny Correia, a short-order cook felt the electrical substations exploding as the wildfires from the hills entered the city destroying them. Santa Monica Pier, California. Dub Hampton and his girlfriend Carrie Monk were playing in the arcade. They heard and saw the fires coming toward the city. Their roommates at UCLA, Doug Barker, and Michael Turner were already aware from the TV reports. Heading to the pier for safety with the bay at their back, they eventually returned to the Campus minus one. Why did the cities burn at the same time as the wildfires?

Torrent. The time is April 5th, 2026. New Orleans, Louisiana. Carrie Monk struggled to escape the rising flood waters in her home. Dub got to her before she lost consciousness, pulling her from the home. Now they had to find safety out of the raging rain and water.

April 5th, 2026. Santa Monica, California. Danny Correia, a short-order cook was in despair. He was broke and had lost his wife. Both circumstances were due to a man named Drake. Now Drake was calling him asking for help. Finally, Danny met Drake at the diner where he worked. Drake looked bad, nervous, asked a lot of strange questions, and left without explanation. There was something mysterious about these questions, something familiar, something déjà vu. April 3rd, 2026. Linares, Florida. Ellen Chang flew high above in her first-class seat from West Palm Beach to Los Angles. A storm over the Gulf of Mexico threatened the aircraft, slamming it into the Gulf. April 4th, 2026. New Orleans, Louisiana. UCLA Bruins is down by 7 playing the NC State Wolfpack. The Final Four. Dub, Carrie his girlfriend, and Barker his roommate, watching the play. Their other roommate Michael was not present. Flash flood warnings on their phones got their attention. The game finished, and they left for something to eat, and then home. The water in the streets rose higher and higher. At 1 am Dub got a call from Barker. He was stranded at a convenience store with a girl he met at the restaurant with no way to get back. Dub had to go get them, nearly losing his life in the effort. Dub had to find Carrie. If he could, there were still her parents and sisters to look for. April 4th, 2026. New Orleans, Louisiana. Lane Turner, a TV news anchor was preparing for the latest news report. First the plane crash, then the basketball report. With a little time on his hands, Lane went to the bar for some refreshments. At the bar, Lane met a doctor attending a medical conference who later would risk his life to help people. Lane received a call from his executive producer, they wanted a live shot of him out in the rain, the background of flood waters if possible. The water in the streets rose higher and higher. As they filmed, the somewhat arrogant, egotistical anchor newsman became a hero. Déjà vu continues to be a recurring reaction for many of these characters in each book.

Affliction. The time is January 29th, 2026 day 14. San Francisco, California. Derek Hoover was fixated on what he saw 65 floors below his office building; rioting and chaos. Dr. Robert Chang entered his office. He was a genius, a neurosurgeon, with degrees in epidemiology and biochemistry. The project they were working on with Dr. Moss was mutating. West Carson, California day 6. Clint Anthony was sick. He was at a homeless camp called West Carson outside Los Angles. His friend, Filter, who had done time with him in the Q entered his tent. People throughout the camp were sick, vomiting, and dying. Whatever they had ingested was killing them. Los Angeles, California day 9. Ellen Chang was sick. A vagrant tried to clean her windshield at a stop light. She refused and he spit at her, part of it hit her face. Seventy-two hours later she was dead. Los Angeles, California day 10. Danny and Maggie were in their small apartment when “Cal Guard” Army Reservists came to forcibly evacuate him to a “secure facility”. With Maggie’s help, they escaped. Westwood, California day 10. Dub Hampton stood in line for over two hours at the UCLA infirmary. Many of the students were sick. Students gossiped that it wasn’t the flu, it had started in the homeless camps, it was airborne, and was spreading fast. Pacific Palisades, California day 17. The Oasis (Order of Apocalyptic Survivors In Sync), an ingenious corkscrew bunker powered by water diverted from the Holland Dam located beneath Getty Villa; Dr. Steven Konkoly, Gilda – hydroponics, Victor – communications and electronics, Betty – secretary, Ritz the firefighter, newcomer Claudia, and two couples. The bacterial infection even came here. The Super Bug became known as TBE, a combination of tuberculosis and ecoli bacteria. The Coliseum became the morgue. The final resting place for the infected.

Pox. The time is June 25th, 2025. San Francisco, California. Dr. Robert Chang, Derek Hoover, Albert Moss, and Betty from the Oasis. Dr. Chang stepped into the light of the “Gateway”. He found himself in the Interllayer Tower in Derek’s office. Déjà vu. 42 seconds later he appeared on the other side of the Gateway. June 25th, 2025. Santa Monica, California. Danny Correia worked at the diner grill, Claudia waitressed, and Arthur the fry cook served up meals. The ground rumbled. Earthquake? Déjà vu. Where was Maggie?

June 25th, 2025. Glendale, California. Lane Turner reported on the Santa Monica earthquake. In West Hollywood, a gas line exploded. Aftershocks occurred. Later, violence and chaos erupted. June 25th, 2025. Westwood, California. Dub Hampton and Carrie Moss picked themselves up from the UCLA gym floor. Their roommate Barker was trapped in the dorm. Their other roommate Michael was on the ledge of the dorm window. June 25th, 2025. Pacific Palisades, California. In the Oasis, everyone felt the effects of the 7.2 earthquake. Gilda Luster checked all of her hydroponics systems. Victor checked his communications equipment. All was well. Collectively, they agreed to go out to gather more people into the fold. In Century City, California a riot was occurring in front of Interllayer Genomics. The company specialized in cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, venture capitalism, and a cross-section of biology, epidemiology, and mechanics. Damage to the building due to the earthquake caused employees to become infected with the Z29 military program they were working on. Z29 amplifies rage, increases pain tolerance, and is spread through body fluids. The infected escaped the building. Once outside, they attacked one another, tearing each other apart! The people began to call them zombies!

Traveling to alternate realities, the déjà vu effect has threaded through all of these books in the series. This has been the Interllayer Genomics project. The characters in the series have been unknowing subjects of the project and have experienced the déjà vu effect. Eventually, the purpose of the project will be explained by Dr. Robert Chang, Derek Hoover, Albert Moss, and Betty.